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Unsteady flow phenomena like rotating stall frequently occur in centrifugal pumps under off-design conditions. Rotating stall could lead to flow instabilities and pressure pulsation, which affect the normal operation of pumps. The mechanism of rotating stall has not been sufficiently understood in previous researches. In this study, the impact of rotating stall in the impeller on centrifugal pump stability and pressure pulsation is numerically investigated. This paper aims to detect the unsteady flow characteristics inside the centrifugal pump by computational fluid dynamics technology, to analyze pressure pulsations caused by rotating stall and to explore the propagation mechanism of rotating stall. Unsteady numerical simulations are performed by ANSYS 16.0 to model the unsteady flow within the entire flow passage of a centrifugal pump under 0.4QBEP and 0.6QBEP working conditions. Through flow characteristics research, the generation and propagation of rotating stall are discovered. Flow separation appears near the leading edge of the pressure side and transforms into vortices, which move along the passage. Meanwhile, the stall cells rotate circumferentially in the impeller. Additionally, frequencies and amplitudes of pressure pulsations related to rotating stall are investigated by spectrum analysis. The results detect a possible characteristic frequency of rotating stall and show that the interaction between stall cells and the volute tongue could have an influence on rotor–stator interaction (RSI).

A fluid-structure interaction system has been solved using the coupled acoustic structural finite element method to simplify the cavitating flow conditions around a hydrofoil. The modes of vibration and the added mass effects have been numerically simulated for various flow conditions including leading edge attached partial cavitation on a 2D NACA0009 hydrofoil. The hydrofoil has been first simulated surrounded by only air and by only water. Then, partial cavities with different lengths have been modeled as pure vapor fluid domains surrounded by the corresponding water and solid domains. The obtained numerical added mass coefficients and mode shapes are in good agreement with the experimental data available for the same conditions. The study confirms that the fluid added mass effect decreases with the cavitation surface ratio and with the thickness of the cavitation sheet. Moreover, the simulations also predict slight mode shape variations due to cavitation that have also been detected in the experiments. Finally, the effects of changes in cavity location have been evaluated with the previously validated model.